London 2012 Festival programme announced

Susan Austin was awarded an Unlimited Commission for Creating the Spectacle. Credit: photo courtesy of the artist

The programme for the London 2012 Festival has been announced today. Events include:

• BT River of Music, a spectacular weekend of free music from the 200 participating nations at iconic sites along the River Thames

• Column, a vertical, spinning column of cloud rising into the sky from the surface of the water in Merseyside and the Artists taking the lead commission for the North West

• Unlimited commissions for Deaf and disabled artists, which will be performed across the UK and brought together at Southbank Centre in September 2012

• Big Dance, which invites everyone to be involved in dance projects across the UK culminating in Big Dance Week on 7-15 July

• Poetry Parnassus, bringing poets from the competing Olympic nations to Southbank Centre for the largest festival of poetry ever to be staged in the UK

The newly launched website for the London 2012 Festival includes a full calendar of events.

The London 2012 Festival will be a 12-week nationwide celebration between 21 June and 9 September 2012 as a finale to the Cultural Olympiad, celebrating culture and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Arts Council England is a principal funder of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival.

The Arts Council sees London 2012 as an incredible opportunity to put the best of British arts on the world stage, and hope that our investment and support will:

• bring the arts to new audiences and inspire people to get involved
• raise the profile of UK artists around the world
• generate new partnerships and collaborations across the wider cultural sector

To help achieve this we commissioned flagship projects across the country, Artists taking the lead and Unlimited, as well as investing in a range of regional events and festivals to help ensure that more people experience and are inspired by the arts in 2012 and beyond.

For more information on the London 2012 Festival visit the newly launched website and for information on the Arts Council's vision for the Cultural Olympiad download 2012 Games - our vision.

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